Archive for the ‘Global coherence’ Category

I have been blessed with experiencing one of the last great wildernesses in the world, The Great Bear Rain Forest, before it gets devastated by a planned tar sand, dirty oil pipeline from one of the greatest environmental disasters in history, the Tar sands of Alberta to one of the most sensitive and pristine coastlines in the world on the British Columbia west coast. It is an amazing living example of the Kindred Spirits Project where the First Nations bands still live and work in harmony with the animals and environment despite all the outer challenges from corporations interested only in financially extracting as much as they can from the environment and leaving the devastating results to everyone else to deal with. I stayed with the Klemtu First Nations band in their Spirit Bear Lodge and spent hours interviewing band members from 18 years old to their elders and their chief. I was blessed that their 30 year old (youngest ever) Chief, Doug Neassloss was by bear guide for a few days. We discussed the endless challenges from corporations to destroy their homeland as well as how their culture is so intimately intertwined with all the animals and the nature that they share their homes with. The human animal bond is evident in every moment here. Watch this to get just a tiny impression of being in this precious, endangered great bear rainforest. This great bear rainforest video is a clip from the National Geographic documentary on this endangered region.

The life of Lawrence Anthony is a testimony to a depth of trans-species communication, respect and love that goes beyond our minds limited perceptions of what is possible.

The blog post on delightmaker asks the right questions as stated here “So, how after Anthony’s death, did the reserve’s elephants — grazing miles away in distant parts of the park — know? “A good man died suddenly,” says Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Ph.D., “and from miles and miles away, two herds of elephants, sensing that they had lost a beloved human friend, moved in a solemn, almost ‘funereal’ procession to make a call on the bereaved family at the deceased man’s home.” The blog, delightmaker also states ““If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart’s stops, and hundreds of elephants’ hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend.””

From my limited, exploratory perspective, this is one further documentation of my “Trans-species Field Theory (c) and my thoughts on the potential of a “love particle” (c) that may be formed from the instant when the energy of love turns into a potential form of matter of love through the thoughts and emotions of that connection. The research and concepts at Heartmath may also be appreciated as truly being “trans-species” as is seen in this example of elephants recognizing the death of a beloved human and traveling so far to connect at that moment. The levels of interspecies communication and their potential implicatons are only being glimpsed from our limited three dimensional perspective. We need to witness and experience these connections to become aware of their existence. The potential of where that can lead all living beings is unlimited. If we create a space of inner silence, quiet within our hearts and allow a spacious emptiness of love and compassion to arise out of that to connect with all beings, perhaps there can be a global shift back to a living garden of eden here and now.

Do animals have concepts of other? other species? I pondered this question after reading this story of cooperation between humpback and gray whales in defending a baby whale from Orca whales who attacked it. This article offers excellent documentation of this cooperation. It also proposes which parts of a mammalian nervous system are designed for this level of cooperation. It is wonderful to see continued documentation of behaviors in other species that we oddly consider limited to humans due to our species centric egoic perspective of life. Perhaps if we begin with a perspective that we are essentially the same, rather than essentially different, we might behave differently to other species and not destroy them and all our shared habitat. Again perhaps we should begin with asking the right questions or begin with a unified field theory, that we are truly all one.

On Mother’s Day, it is sad to see one species killing the baby of another for food. Yet, it is also beautiful to see other species trying to help the mother protect her young. On Mother’s Day, perhaps we can view each other as being mother to all beings, to our environment and to all of nature and perhaps we can create a world where we care for and love all of nature as our child. May all beings assist in protecting our precious children from harm whether from other beings, or from harmful ecocidal practices, from control issues that are not in the best interest of all beings and from the lack of truth. Happy Mother’s Day to Mother Earth as well!

This past March, Vancouver pioneered a new approach to living together with their Vancouver Conference on 12 days of compassion based on the charter for compassion. I am grateful to share with you this Video of Karen Armstrong’s keynote Lecture on the Charter for Compassion. Karen Armstrong is a world renowned historian of religion, author, professor and winner of the TED Prize for her development of the Charter For Compassion. This is sponsored partially by the Greater Vancouver Compassion Network (www.gvcn.ca) as well as the Simon Fraser University Center for Dialogue and the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education. The Dalai Lama sometimes describes compassion as a generosity of heart. This is all part of a new movement for a Network of Compassionate Cities.

The one thing I would add to this discussion of compassion is that they include compassion for all beings to include the animal kingdom. When this happens, perhaps the oil companies will no longer use sound frequencies that have been found to kill dolphins, whales and other marine mammals, poachers will no longer kill elephants, rhinoceros, primates etc. and factory farms will no longer treat animals like objects rather than sentient living beings.

I feel like this is part of synchrodestiny. I was unaware of this network when I felt guided to begin my Kindred Spirits Project blog. With my background as a veterinarian committed to doing my best to help animals and their human caretakers, guided by my search for what is ultimate healing, I had found myself on a subconscious quest which has led me to my own insights that compassion for all beings is one of the keys to heal the human condition and its disastrous impact on our environment. I personally feel that by practicing unique mind body medicine techniques that I have developed for all animal lovers, animal hospitals, animal shelters, sanctuaries, zoo’s, aquariums, and any place where animals and people connect can actually become center for the awakening of compassion for all beings.

I will be sharing these techniques more in the future on this blog, in webinars, books, as well as various conferences for veterinarians and animal lovers. Stay tuned.

I will keep this post short so that you can utilize your valuable time watching this special presentation at the beginning of the 12 days of compassion in Vancouver. Let’s expand on this develop a network of compassionate cities and compassionate animal care centers throughout the world! What do you think?

I chuckle sometimes when I read studies that document what some might think is soooo obvious. It is nice to see though that science continues to document the beneficial impact of positive thoughts and intentions that ancient traditions and modern psychology discuss at length. This particular study on the benefits of good intentions is one of those studies. It seems like one of those “duh” moments. Of course good intentions make us healthier and happier.

Neuroscience continues to document how our positive thoughts, intentions and emotions are not only of benefit to our own body, mind and spirit, but also have significant impacts way beyond us, to be of benefit to all beings we encounter and thereby to all beings that are encountered by the beings we encounter and on and on. So simple, yet so challenging. As I wait to board a flight back east to see my patients and their humans, I get great joy by consciously thanking flight assistants at check-in, the security personnel, cashiers, etc. who are all just “doing their jobs”. They immediately smile as they feel recognized and acknowledged as a fellow living human being, not just an automaton. In reality, all of us, two-legged, four-legged, winged, domestic and wild, all we want is to be acknowledged and loved. It truly is as simple as that. If we have positive intentions and express them to everyone we encounter, we can and do indeed make a difference in the world, being by being, moment by moment. When I enter a horse barn or an animal hospital, I do my best to smile, (most of the time) even during more challenging personal moments in my life. That smile inevitably shifts to a more positive energy in the environment. Neuroscience is documenting how mirror neurons, mirroring others visual images of each other tend to reflect back to us often what we are reflecting to others. Once we realize this, it might seem sensible, that we can consciously choose, as often as possible, to have helpful, positive thoughts and good intentions. We truly are mirrors for each other. We can be like that dark mirror in the Harry Potter movies, or we can consciously choose moment by moment to have good intentions and be a positive mirror to the world. Good intentions stimulate good vibrations! So as the Beach Boys used to sing…”Good, Good Vibrations”, let us all have good intentions and good vibrations! Is this not what our animal friends stimulate in us and do for us when they whinny, purr, wag their tails, and show us their joy when they see us? Let us wag our tails, whinny and purr and bring joy and good intentions to others! Let’s support the findings of this study day by day.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, peaceful, enlightening and awesome New Year to all my Kindred Spirits! May your New Year be blessed with inner and outer smiles and may you be able to share that joy with all beings! By sharing our inner and outer smile and joy with all beings we are actually part of the change, creating a healthier, happier world! When we smile, it actually causes positive changes in our neurophysiology thereby creating more happiness for us and then for others.

I hope you have enjoyed the first year of the Kindred Spirits Project blog and that it brought joy into your life. This has been just the beginning of helping to transform society into a healthier, happier, more compassionate global community. Thank you for your support, feedback and insights in 2011 and for 2012. Let us all work and play together creating the loving, compassionate global multi-species, trans-species family that we inherently know that this world can be.

Blessings to you all! Chat in the New Year! Share and spread the cosmic Smile that transcends all beings!

P.S. If any of these photo’s require acknowledgement or credit to a particular person, company or whomever, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you or remove this beautiful sharing if desired. Much gratitude to you, whomever, for creating such heartfelt photographs that brings joy to so many!

Celebrating and bringing in the New Year with beloved family members can nourish old bonds, heal old wounds, create new experiences and allow for support for future endeavors. Hearing, seeing and watching so many family members flying all over to connect with others families stimulated thoughts in my mind about the families closer to us as well as deeper concepts of family. Hearing of different perspectives on the holidays, gift-giving and receiving and the “mind traffic” that can occur based on different belief systems and philosophies about this holiday season helped me appreciate all the different mind universes that live together on this planet. Recently, I shared in a previous post about inter-species families with gorilla’s as well as all the varied species that share my sanctuary with me.

Today I came across a beautiful commentary that spoke to me regarding all these varied observations and interactions of what family means. This commentary is from one of my favorite books, “Glimpse After Glimpse, Daily Reflections on Living and Dying” (Harper SanFrancisco, 1995) by Sogyal Rinpoche, the author of the renowned book “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying”. Sogyal writes:

“Just as the ocean has waves, and the sun has rays, so the mind’s own radiance is its thoughts and emotions. The ocean has waves, yet the ocean is not particularly disturbed by them. The waves are the very nature of the ocean. Waves will rise, but where do they go? Back into the ocean. And where do the waves come from? The ocean.

In the same manner, thoughts and emotions are the radiance and expression of the very nature of the mind. They rise from the mind, but where do they dissolve? Back into the mind. Whatever rises, do not see it as a particular problem. If you do not impulsively react, if you are only patient, it will once again settle into its essential nature.

When you have this understanding, then rising thoughts only enhance your practice. But when you do not understand what they intrinsically are…the radiance of the nature of your mind….then your thoughts become the seed of confusion. So have a spacious, open, and compassionate attitude toward your thoughts and emotions, because in fact, your thoughts are your family, the family of your mind. Before them, as Dudjom Rinpoche used to say: “Be like an old wise man, watching a child play.””

Upon reading this commentary this morning, I had a totally expanded concept of family, from our inner family to our outer family of all beings on mother earth and beyond. The inner family of our thoughts and emotions are an integral foundation for how we relate to ourselves and all other beings. Our thoughts and emotions which radiate naturally from us allow us to perceive and experience family in so many varied ways. Once we recognize that, we have the opportunity to embrace a more loving compassionate perspective on all our families, inner and outer, from our thoughts to a bloodline family to friends and to all beings that we share mother earth with. Once we appreciate all these levels of family, we can create a more harmonious, compassionate world, again, both inner and outer. Thereby, we can have a huge impact on the health and happiness of the planet through the impact that these compassionate action steps, of cultivating our loving thoughts and emotions, can have on the conscious and emotional commons and on global coherence. Through our positive thoughts and emotions we are making a difference in the world, thought by thought, moment by moment. These positive thoughts and emotions can be greater gifts to our families than any material gifts. There is great truth in the saying that the greatest gift one can offer is being”presence” for the other being, rather than physical “presents”.

One of my many wishes for all kindred spirits for the New Year is that may we all be blessed with a loving, peaceful, healthy, awakening, fun family of inner thoughts and emotions and may they all be blessings to all other outer family members that truly transcend all labels!

I came across this video, Occupy Love, occupylove.org that has assisted me in appreciating a much more expansive view of all the unfolding events around the occupy movement. This is not meant to be a political blog or anything of the sort. The video actually addresses one of the goals of this blogsite, “How to create a more compassionate, heart based society”. I have heard many of the polarized perspectives on what is happening and found myself asking questions such as “what is the bigger picture?” and what really are the “best questions” to be explored if we are searching to create a more compassionate society for the benefit of all beings.

I personally do not believe that polarization of “us vs. them” in any shape or form is not necessarily beneficial for anyone. It is a form of duality that pits one against another, stating one side wins the other side loses. Perhaps my idealistic naive side of myself is showing up too much today, yet it seems that we can truly make situations a win/win for all parties involved, if that is indeed the primary intention. What might be beneficial to accomplish this though, is to see if we are indeed asking the right questions. The concept of “occupy love” is a much more inclusive, positive perspective that encompasses all beings, including all our animal friends. If we “occupy love” or “be love”, we come from a different part of our brain. We actually stimulate the release of different neurotransmitters and neurohormones. We feel different, see differently, think differently and thereby wire our brains differently. We actually see with new eyes so to speak. We actually give our brains and our hearts a “love” tune-up so to speak. This is also what happens when we share our lives with our animal companions. It is like a virtual “love” tune-up to our hearts and minds.

So dear kindred spirits, I share this brief youtube video in hopes of stimulating positive neurotransmitters and neurohormones and offering you a day filled with more loving, compassionate thoughts and feelings for all beings. Perhaps we can go forth in our day with more compassion for others who we may not necessarily see eye to eye with, but respect them realizing we are all looking for the same thing, to be loved. What does it feel like inside you to “occupy love”?

One key principle of the Kindred Spirits Project is how we are all connected at so many different levels based on neurophysiology, quantum physics and the new biology. This touching article in the huffington post about an elderly married couple is hard wired proof of this connection from a bioelectrical basis. This couple was married for 72 years and they were then both critically injured in an automobile accident. As they were holding hands together in their hospital beds, Gordon, the husband passed away before Norma, yet his heart monitor showed that his heart was still beating. When asked about this, “The nurse told Gordon and Norma’s son, Dennis, that the monitor was beeping “because they’re holding hands, and [Norma’s heart beat] is going through them,” Dennis recalled in an interview with Des Moines’ KCCI news station. “Her heart was beating through him.” He said they always wanted to pass away together and so they did. Norma died exactly one hour later. My heart weeped with joy as I read this article.

We actually are all connected in so many different ways. I have been researching various ways to document the biological impact of people on their animal companions and vice versa. One way is to connect an animal and a human through a special computer program that can monitor both EKG (electrocardiogram) and EEG (electroencephalogram) changes in both of them. At this point this has only been done between two people, but we are developing it between animals and humans. My feeling is that when one of us calms down, the other will entrain to that slower, calmer state both in our brains and our hearts. It can be of great benefit in all interactions with our animal companions, a innovative, new biofeedback mechanism. Once we program that level of entrainment in our minds, we can connect to that in our animal friends. This may be of benefit in all equestrian activities, canine interactions as well as others.

I feel these connections go beyond just the electrophysiological connections. Based on complicated emotions of love as well as quantum physics, global coherence theory, heartmath and other approaches, it seems that we are connected through nonverbal, telepathic, nonlocal interactions that may indeed transcend time and space as well. Dr. Gary Schwartz documents some of the more far reaching perspectives about these connections in his paradigm shifting book “The Afterlife Experiments”. One of the essential components of these interactions seems to be the emotional connection of love. The actual physiologic basis of these connections is well illustrated in the story of Gordon and Norma.

Once we become totally aware of these all potential interactions and their implications we can give and receive unconditional love, peace and harmony with our kindred spirits in even more new, innovative, yet to be explored ways. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this potential.

I just returned from the lecturing at the World Small Animal Veterinary Congress on Jeju Island in South Korea. It was a joy to reconnect with old colleagues and friends throughout the world. I saw veterinary friends from South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, China, as well as from the U.S. and Canada. It was fascinating to hear from them about all the changes over the past few years in each of their countries amidst all the environmental, economic, political, social and conscious events of the past few years.

One story that was common throughout all the discussions was how essential animal companions had become in the midst of the massive shifts and changes throughout the world. The unconditional love shared by our kindred spirits was becoming even more vital to help support the human soul as we maneuver through the accelerated earth changes. As cities throughout Asia increase in population density, increase in busyness, noise, financial abundance, it seems the desire to share the small apartments with animal companions increases. Why is this I pondered. My feelings are that with increased emphasis on financial success, a super efficient, multi-tasking mind stream, never-ending to do lists, the heart continues to shut down. The stress with other families members heightens and the one and only place one’s heart can receive solace, comfort, loving kindness and compassion is from our kindred spirits, dogs, cats, and other animals that we can share our homes with. I hear this over and over again wherever I travel to teach and share about the human animal bond and integrative animal health care.

With the increase in the number of companion animals, veterinary medicine, pharmaceuticals, pet foods, supplements, new, innovative diagnostic and therapeutic modalities also are on the rise. The quality of veterinary care improves and inadvertently so do the costs. The dance between quality and expense must be continually evaluated and balanced based on the financial ability of the human caretaker and the life of their animal. The questions inevitably arise such as what price is too much to save an animal’s life. There is no black and white answer to this and it varies from patient to patient, human to human, situation to situation. This can be an emotional roller coaster for the veterinarian as well as clients. It is then an opportunity for veterinarians to keep an open, compassionate heart in the midst of economic realities. Not always easy.

One partial solution that I lecture on is the benefit of integrative animal health care and true prevention through proper, healthy, natural, balanced, nutrition along with appropriate nutritional supplements. In addition, the importance of regular exercise and heart to heart, loving connections that both help support a healthy immune system, thereby preventing disease and expensive intervention. These messages seem to reverberate well with most veterinarians, whereby they often have an “aha” moment on how these holistic preventive measures are truly the essence of health and happiness for all beings.

These messages seemed to especially resonate with the veterinary students that attended my lectures and I interacted with afterwards. The Korean veterinary students reminded me that my last book, “Kindred Spirits, How the Remarkable Bond Between Humans and Animals Can Change the Way We Live”, had been translated into Korean and shared how it nourished their souls as they worked their way through the academic rigor of veterinary studies. As four idealistic and excited veterinary students proudly showed me around their beautiful island, Jeju, the Island of Peace, as it is known, I was able to guide them through different mind/body exercises and meditations that might help them balance their lives as they entered this noble, yet challenging profession. We sat by the beach, by waterfalls and discussed how natural health care, mind body medicine, loving kindness and compassion can be integrated into modern conventional medicine and surgery. It was nice to see, that these messages were so well received by new up and coming veterinarians, the future of veterinary medicine and health care.

In addition, I was happy to hear from professors at Korean and other Asian veterinary schools how my textbook, “Veterinary Acupuncture, Ancient Art to Modern Medicine” was used as the essential text on Veterinary Acupuncture throughout the region. After taking a self-created six month sabbatical from teaching, writing and veterinary practice, it was heartening to see that veterinary students and veterinarians throughout the world are continuing to recognize the importance of natural health care and the human animal bond in the healing of the world as we all meander through these intriguing global changes. Loving kindness and compassion through the support of our animal companions are essential in the planetary re-adjustments and healing.